Top man: George Entwistle was always the favourite to be DG. Photograph: David Levene

The BBC licence fee may be paid by 25m households, but when it comes to deciding the next director general, it essentially came down to one man – Lord Patten. The former Conservative cabinet's minister choice of George Entwistle to replace Mark Thompson comes as little surprise despite the absurd and unnecessary levels of secrecy employed by the BBC Trust in the appointment process. Entwistle, who, like Thompson, is steeped in BBC journalism, was always the favourite in a final field that included outsider, Ofcom's director general, Ed Richards, and Caroline Thomson, the BBC's chief operating officer.

George Entwistle edited Newsnight a decade ago, starting at the top of the flagship BBC2 current affairs show, the day before the 9/11 attacks – the kind of creative background in current affairs and more recently in serious factual programming that his best-known rivals lacked. But as a leader, spokesman or as a negotiator the low-key Entwistle is an unknown quantity, and he will have to demonstrate that he can stand up to ministers, MPs or a hostile press. The qualities of resilience that the outgoing Thompson possesses.

There are no shortage of issues for the new leader to resolve – the most pressing is to ensure healthy relationships with the Conservatives and the coalition. In some right-of-centre quarters, there is still unhappiness that the BBC escaped with only a licence fee freeze, while the broadcaster is still easily Britain's biggest news provider, which is still reliant on what critics describe as a "television tax". BBC insiders also worry about the BBC's position versus rivals – increasingly small against Sky on one hand – but large compared to ITV and Channel 4.

On screen, there are no shortage of creative hits and with the Olympics looming there is no lack of popular programming, but the BBC nevertheless faces no shortage of choices in an era of tighter resources and greater competition. After the mixed performance of The Voice, how far should the BBC invest in entertainment?

Can the public broadcaster afford its commitment to sport as Sky takes on more rights? Is there anywhere the BBC can make savings in the wake of the listener revolt over the idea to close 6 Music? Does cash need to be focused on drama and comedy hits – or on "distinctive" areas such as news, children's or natural history.

Entwistle will have to develop a plausible technology strategy in an era where mobile phones have screens the size of hands and the life of the couch potato is made more exacting by tweeting on an iPad as programmes roll along. The success of the in-house iPlayer shows what can be done, although YouView delays shows how things can go wrong. And all the while the new leader needs to be mindful of the BBC's access to funds compared to rivals – the corporation may like to think it can compete with Apple but what it can do is crowd out content efforts of newspapers.

Finally – and this is both least and most important – is the simple issue of leadership. Thompson's BBC delivered on screen and kept up with technology but the outgoing DG lapsed into over confidence and the endless restructuring and reminders about the level of his pay left staff demoralised. By handing Entwistle the lower wage starting wage of £450,000 these concerns will be partly allayed — but there is some way to go before employees feel enthused.

On the face of it Entwistle does not arrive at the top with Greg Dyke levels of charisma (although that didn't help him in the end) but there is a chance, and certainly a need, for the creative rejuvenation that a new boss can bring. Whether Entwistle is up to all these tasks is, to be honest up for grabs, but at least he inherits a stable broadcaster of scale and ambition that for all the bouts of intense "Sachs-gate" type criticism is still loved by the British public. For that they have their predecessor to thank.

There is a coda, though too. No way should a BBC director general be chosen like this with candidates met in a car and driven to different hotels to prevent leaks. Lord Patten, in trying to preserve secrecy, seems to think he owns the BBC. The chairman does not – and it would have been far better to have released the names of the final shortlisted candidates a couple of days before the interview so they can bear some public scrutiny. As it is we rely on the wisdom of the chairman and the handful of trustees he consulted; we shall have to see if that judgment is vindicated.